Freedom is deteriorating worldwide, the independent human rights organisation Freedom House said in its annual report released this week.

The report on the organisation’s annual global survey said there were reversals in political rights and civil liberties in one-fifth of the world’s countries last year. It cited Venezuela, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan as countries where political freedom has diminished.

Guyana was one of the 90 countries that Freedom House labelled as “free” in 2007. This figure was unchanged from the previous year, Freedom House said. However, it added that large numbers of countries that were already designated “partly free” or “not free” saw serious regression away from democracy in 2007.

Guyana was rated at two under political rights and three under civil liberties, with one being the most free rating and seven being the least free.

The report said 38 countries showed evidence of declines in freedoms, many of them in South Asia, the Middle East and from the former Soviet Union. Thailand, Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Mozambique and Sierra Leone recorded positive changes in their political rights and civil liberties ratings during the year, while Bangladesh, Chad, the Comoros, Georgia, Kenya, Latvia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Philippines, Tunisia, Bosnia Herzegovina and the Central African Republic showed declines.

Meanwhile, while their statuses have not changed, Freedom House said that Haiti, Poland, Rwanda and Turkey indicated an upward trend owing to increasing stability and free and fair elections. Afghanistan showed a downward trend because of its worsening security situation.

Freedom House, a US-based NGO has been undertaking the annual survey since 1972.